Memoirs of Kitty Siam Ch. 29

Memoirs of Kitty Siam - Rontara.

There was not much educating to be done by Ressa but I let her believe that most of what she was telling me was all new to me. I did not bother to tell her that part of my training was in pleasing others no matter the gender, race or species.

I listened to Ressa as she detailed our owner's business interests and found out that they ranged from selling and transporting simple dry goods to providing high quality escort services for the various Lords and Ladies of his homeland and surrounding nations. He also owned his own fleet of ships and would transport anything from coal and lumber, to passengers and even soldiers for a sizable price.

Ressa was not sure what my assignment was exactly but she knew that it would involve sex. She mentioned that our owner has a thing for young girls and even though I was just past the age of adulthood, my body structure and lack of pubic hair excited him in the thought that he could have a woman of age that looked like a girl from his fetish. She confessed that he has sought out such girls in the past for his own personal concubine, and then she cautioned me that once the girls began to develop he would lose interest in them. I admit that this sounded believable, but this was all too coincidental for me buy into but I kept listening carefully as Ressa spoke. I felt that there was more that she was not telling me and my instincts told me to be cautious in my dealings with these two.

We got along well enough for the rest of the afternoon, and though we were not best friends, I could see the basics of a friendship starting to form between us. Once she informed me of what our owner expects from us, we went on to talk about past lovers, and in my case both human and non human. Of course my revelation about the horny vines had her asking me if I would take her to the spot where the plants grew.

I laughed and said that I would if we ever got into Kreet again.

Ressa winked and then cautioned me to keep the plants as our secret or perhaps our owner would get jealous.

It was late in the afternoon when San'Zal returned to us. He had news that his business went well and that the deal was sealed. He brought us food that was left over from the feast that he had with the Princes. He apologized for dinner but stated that food was in short supply here in Na'Vek and that all the Na'Tal shop owners had either fled to Kreet or had been put to death by the Ishtan.

I looked to Ressa and whispered, you will look like me soon enough if we stay here.

She shot me a baleful look and I just gave her a catty wink.

Our owner seemed to be kind enough that I did not receive a backhand across my cheek for my attempt at comedy. He let us know right off that we would be leaving Na'Tal by ship in the morning and that there was plenty of food for us on board for the journey back to Cassani.

This was actually good news for me as I had grown tired of the Kreet and the Ishtan and would be glad to put this whole mess behind me. Until I heard that we were leaving, my thoughts consisted of how to get away from this castle and where to go once I did. I was thankful that I no longer had to consider fighting my way through the Ishtan army to get out of here.

Our dinner consisted of some sort of meet that resembled pork but tasted like chicken, and a few bowls of overly cooked vegetables. It was filling but it was not tasty, which is what I had come to expect from food prepared by the Ishtan.

When Ressa and I had finished eating our dinner it was time to accompany our owner to the bathhouse. This was not the private facility that Kenna and I used earlier. Tonight we were going to one reserved for the Royals and the Nobles like our owner the Baron. There was nothing for me to change into so I left my backpack safely stored in the wardrobe collar and went out in the clothing and collar that had been provided for me. Ressa did the same, but I was a bit surprised that being San'Zor's first girl that she was not permitted to wear shoes or even sandals on her feet. Both of us made the walk from our quarters, through the castle, and along the streets of the walled in village in our bare feet. I began to appreciate the guys in Kreet that kept the streets clear of manure a whole lot more as I carefully dodged the steaming piles of horse, ox, and goat droppings along our way to the bathhouse.

We entered the bathhouse and the three of us disrobed. Ressa and I slipped into the water while our owner excused himself for a minute. The Baron wrapped a towel around his waist then joined a few of his fellow countrymen in conversation far enough away from the washing area that even with my advanced hearing I could not make out what they were saying. The Cassani language was similar to the Denvian language that was stored in my UT and while I could understand their spoken words, I could not lip read to pick up on what was said.

Ressa was a bit bothered by the animated nature of the conversation and as we watched she took me by the arm and began washing my back. I thought that this was her way of apologizing for being rude to me earlier when her lips pressed against my ear and whispered, "This does not look good."

There were a few other girls with similar light skin tones and Ressa and I drifted over and joined them in the water. Some of the girls were Cassani, others were daughters of Na'Tal nobility that were collared servants of the Ishtan Royals and other visiting dignitaries. We pretended not to notice what was going on as the conversation our owner was involved in grew more heated.

Ressa and I kept acting as if nothing was wrong as we moved from the washing area to the bathing area. This put more distance between our owner and us. I started to ask Ressa what was happening but before I could complete the sentence a squad of Ishtan guards led by one of the junior Princes that I had seen with Shilka earlier approached the group of Cassani men.

A few of the younger Cassani men tried to resist the Ishtan and were quickly subdued. One of them struck one of the soldiers and attempted to assault the Prince. He was quickly run through by a large rather ugly looking sword as the soldiers rallied around their Prince. After the brief scuffle ended the Cassani men were led away with their hands manacled behind their backs. As San'Zal was led away he yelled something that the UT could not translate to Ressa. I suspected that he was using a language that he was sure that the Ishtan would not understand.

Ressa took my arm and led me from the water, and in our haste to exit she let me know that we had to get out of the castle quickly. I wanted to ask about what was going on but figured that getting out of here was our first priority. My training kicked in and as we left the water my hands went to her collar and removed it. She was about protest but I told her that I would explain later but for now she needed to trust me.

We quickly dried each other off and tried to act as if nothing had happened. Ressa took no notice as I changed my wardrobe collar from San'Zal's red leather collar to my old gold collar with the Royal seal of the Prince of Kreet. I picked up a white dress belonging to one of the other girls that were still in the water and instructed Ressa to put it on quickly. She began to protest again but I put my finger to her lips to silence her protests. Just trust me play along I said, then assured her that we will get out of here.

While Ressa was distracted I backed up into an area that was not well lit by the torches of the bathhouse and keyed in the sequence on my collar that had me dressed in the brown and tan silk outfit that I had worn to the truce talks with the Ishtan, minus the swords of course. Thankfully Ressa was unfamiliar with this outfit so there were no questions asked as to where it came from. Since her dress was stolen, she would believe that my attire was as well.

My feet were already clad in tan sandals but Ressa had no shoes so I grabbed a pair of sandals that belonged to one of the other bathers and gave them to Ressa. I put my hair up and pinned it with two metal spikes as I calmly ushered Ressa from the bathhouse.

We made our way out of the bathhouse and kept going until we had gone a safe distance. Along the way I told Ressa that she was to act as if she were my handmaiden and I would reprise my role as the Kreetin diplomatic hostage, and that we would attempt to use my status under the Rantakki Accords to get ourselves out of the castle if the Ishtan stopped us.

We kept to the shadows and made our way to the castle gate. We maintained a vigorous pace that was easy for me but was wearing poor Ressa out so at her continued insistence we stopped for a brief rest in a dark area behind one of the abandoned shops. Now that we had a few minutes I confronted Ressa and asked what all the drama was about and if she had any idea where we should go once we were outside the castle walls.

Ressa began by explaining that the island nation of Cassani and the Ishtan had been at war off and on over the last century or so and that the hostilities had ended but that the two nations were locked in sort of a cold war. She did not use the term, "Cold war", but that was my interpretation of her explanation.

Prince Nassak is considered by many to be a Royal idiot so San'Zal used his influence with him to purchase me at a price that he could not refuse, but I was not purchased for sex she informed me. I was purchased so that the Ishtan could not learn my secrets and the hope was that I could be persuaded by reward or by force to assist the Cassani as I had helped the Kreet.

So she was in on this all the time, I thought to myself. It was a good thing that we were in a dark location so that she could not see the, "I want to slit your throat" expression I had on my face. I did have to admit that from the act that she had put on earlier, she was quite convincing in her role. I snickered to myself as the words, "Bloody spies!" slipped through my thoughts.

Ressa kept on talking as I considered how to get us out of the castle gate. I tuned back into the conversation as Ressa was going on about how the Ishtan King must have found out about the deal that her partner in crime had made with Prince Nassak, which was the reason for the Baron's arrest tonight.

Then Ressa began saying something that I really needed to hear. She detailed the part of San'Zal's plan where he had a ship waiting to take us back to Cassani, and that he had planned for all of us to set sail in the morning. She had hoped that the Ishtan did not find out about that part of the plan she confessed as she went on to say that we should make our way to the ship and have the crew set sail at once.

Finally she was saying something important and it was now obvious that her and her partner had a contingency plan, so I started to question her along these lines. I knew that I would be going along with their plan for a while, but I also knew that at the first opportunity, I was throwing her to the wolves or throwing her overboard if there was some benefit for me in doing so.

Ressa proposed that we try to rescue her owner from the Ishtan, but I quickly put an end to that idea by refusing to single handedly storm the castle dungeon to rescue someone that I barely knew.

My insistence was that we stick to the original plan and get to the ship and let the Cassani ambassador worry about getting her fellow spy out of this mess.

She reluctantly agreed and we set off for the castle's main gate. I figured that it was still early enough in the evening that we could mingle with the Ishtan as they were coming and going through the gate. We were just about through the gate when the older soldier who was assigned as my guard on the road here from Kreet recognized me.

We stopped when he called out my name and I was grateful that there was no alarm in his voice. We exchanged pleasantries before he asked me were I was going. I introduced Ressa as, "Lucy my handmaiden" and he politely took her hand in greeting. He asked where we were going and in response I pointed to a hill off in the distance to the west and said that we were just going to get away from the manure filled streets to get some fresh air and watch the moons rise.

The old soldier laughed and agreed with the bad smell part of my statement and then volunteered that he asked to be assigned to the main gate to be away from the stench of the village streets.

I laughed along with him then gave him a hug before Ressa and I walked through the gate. We made our way to the west toward the hill as we mentioned, then once we got to the hill we circled around behind it and headed south to the docks. I hiked up my silk pants and Ressa tied up her white dress and we entered a small stream. We followed the stream south until it made a gradual turn to the west. We found a gentle rocky slope and used it to exit the stream so as not to leave any footprints in the soil that would give our direction of travel away. I knew full well that by morning the stones would be dry but footprints in the mud would be there for days.

We moved through the woods until the trees and brush became too thick for us to pass. If I were traveling alone I could just continue the journey in feline form, but I was stuck with Ressa the redheaded cow and her heaving gallon-sized udders. As a spy she was well suited for applying her craft in bedrooms and bathhouses, but her build and conditioning did not make her a good field agent.

We left the trees and headed south on the dirt road that lead to the docks. We were making good time until we came to the entrance. The entrance was walled off and there were two guards posted at the gate. Upon noticing the Ishtan guards I turned to Ressa and asked if she could take one guard out if I took the other?

Ressa looked at me and said that had they been in the castle she could have poisoned them, or perhaps stabbed them during an intimate encounter, but she confessed that she doubted that she could subdue either of the towering muscular Ishtan guards on her own.

Together Ressa and I crept back into the trees and thick brush until we were out of view of the road. The going was slow, but once we were in a small clearing under the canopy created by the trees I told Ressa to stay put then made my way through the brush until I was out of site of Ressa. I removed my clothing using the wardrobe collar then transformed into feline form. It was now easier to for me to travel through the brush and get closer to the guards. When I got in range I climbed a sturdy tree and reverted back to human form. Using my wardrobe collar I deployed my bow and quiver of arrows. Once I could see that there was no one around to witness, I took aim and let two arrows fly and in seconds both of the Ishtan dock guards were no longer a problem for us.

I returned to Ressa having dressed as before but this time thanks to the wardrobe collar I had my katana tucked into the silk band around my waist. We made our way out of the brush and onto the road. There was no one around and most of the dock was in darkness except for the torches providing light for the night watch on the decks of the moored ships.

We heard voices as we passed a few of the ships, and one of the drunken men of the watch called down from the deck of his ship to comment on Ressa's undulating breasts, and express what he would like to do to her if she would come up and visit him. She shot him a quick, "Maybe later" as we made our way past his boat to our final destination. I quietly disposed of my sword using the wardrobe collar when we arrived at the gangplank of the Cassani ship.

The ship was a merchant class vessel constructed of sturdy timbers with three stout masts and a brawny crew. As we made our way on deck the officer of the deck challenged us and Ressa answered his challenge with the correct pass phrase, and then introduced me as the consort of the Prince of Kreet. She explained that I had helped to rescue her from the Ishtan and that I needed safe passage out of Ishtan territory. I was surprised that she did not just introduce me as human cargo, but perhaps she did not want to alarm me, or irritate me.

The officer of the deck summoned the Captain of the ship. When the Captain arrived on deck he joined in the conversation with Ressa. Within a few minutes orders were given and the crew were summoned to their stations by a loud steady drumbeat. The Captain left us and made his way to the command deck of the ship and began barking out orders. It was not long before the sails were full and a strong steady wind was taking us away from the dock. As I looked out over the railing I could see some commotion around the dock area that we had just vacated. It seems that the Ishtan had discovered their two guards and made the assumption that our leaving and the two corpses were linked. I smiled to myself thinking of how much drama the discovery of two dead dock guards with Kreetin arrows in their chests will cause.

Once we cleared the port and were out to sea, all the torches on the deck of the ship were extinguished just in case the Ishtan navy decided to pursue us. Our Captain made several course changes before the torches were snuffed then made several after in an attempt to deceive any Ishtan followers and perhaps have them looking in the wrong direction. It must have worked because as we sailed on through the night we did not see another ship. I did my best to unofficially help the lookouts by switching on my feline night vision, but as the moons began to set and dawn was close at hand, we were alone and sailing East.

The Captain was still busy with ship's business when he released the crew from the Cassani's version of general quarters. The Captain sent his First Officer to Ressa and I to get us settled into our quarters for the trip to Cassani. Like Kreet, the Cassani were a male dominated culture and though this ship was set up as a merchant ship, it was actually crewed by the Cassani navy. There were no quarters set aside for females and the First Officer was not prepared to put us below deck with the all male crew in their open bay filled with hammocks. Instead we were taken to a tiny conference room off the small corridor leading the to Captain's quarters. We were given two hammocks and two bedrolls to make our selves comfortable. It did not take long for the hammocks to be strung up and for the two of us to be fast asleep in them.

Our hammocks were strung side by side and were connected to iron hooks bolted into opposite facing walls. Since the hammocks were side by side, I would have to crawl under her hammock as Ressa took the hammock closest to the door. When I awoke it was past midday. I slipped my legs off the side of my hammock to face the door. Ressa was still sleeping which allowed me to change my clothing using the wardrobe collar before I slipped under her hammock and quietly walked out on deck.

The air was a bit cooler now that we were out to sea and the jeans, boots, tank top and jacket worked nicely for the weather of the day. As I closed the door behind me to our quarters, the officer of the deck came to me and asked if everything was ok.

I nodded to him and smiled then asked if it was ok for me to be out on deck like this.

Of course Ma'am, he said, and then he asked if I wanted a quick tour of the ship.

Since I had never been on an actual sailing ship I took him up on his offer and let him escort me around the upper deck and through the decks below. For obvious reasons he avoided taking me through the crew's quarters as many of them were sleeping in after our abrupt late night departure from Na'Tal.

The Captain and crew treated me with the respect due a consort of a Prince, and as a possible ally. I knew that when we got to Cassani that attempts would be made to secure my cooperation by compensation or by coercion. I found out during my tour of the ship and my conversation with the officer of the deck that the trip to Cassani would take almost two months as care would be taken to avoid Ishtan and other hostile waters. So I had a long time to come up with a plan of action for when we arrive on the island of Cassani.